Pet Sematary Two is a 1992 American horror film directed by Mary Lambert and sequel to the 1989 film Pet Sematary, starring Edward Furlong, Anthony Edwards, Jared Rushton and Clancy Brown.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
A 13-year-old boy named Jeff Matthews and his father Chase (who works as a veterinarian) moves to Ludlow, Maine after the accidental death of his mother, Renee during the production of her latest film. Jeff learns about the cursed Indian bural ground and what happened to the Creed family.
One day, his friend Drew's dog, Zowie, is fatally shot by Gus Gilbert, Drew's stepfather (who also happens to be the town sheriff) for chasing Gus's pet rabbits. It's also revealed that Gus was in love with Renee 20 years ago and since she rejected him, Gus has been venting his ire on everything and everybody around him.
Jeff and Drew decided to bury Zowie at the Indian cemetery, in order to bring it back to life which works, but there are some side effects. Zowie becomes uncharacteristically fierce and its eyes have an unnatural glow to them, especially in daylight.
Gus grounds Drew for skipping school to bury Zowie (because Gus demanded that he do so). When Chase treats Zowie for his gunshot wound, it doesn't heal and even more bizarre is that Zowie has no heartbeat. After Chase sends a sample of Zowie's blood to a lab and it turns out that Zowie's cells have completely deteriorated and they are no different from those of a dead canine.
Jeff goes to the pet cemetery on Halloween for a night of horror stories, notably about the Creed murders. The still-grounded Drew goes along on his mom's orders and wants to get even with Gus for repeatedly and unfavorably comparing her to Renee.
Gus comes to the cemetery looking for Drew. He beats up his stepson after chasing off all the other kids save Jeff, who is swatted away like a fly when he tries to stop Gus's bullying. He rips up a gravemarker and is about to hit Drew with it when Zowie appears and fatally mauls Gus whom both boys subsequently bury at the Indian cemetery.
Gus returns to life; he now moves stiffly and rarely speaks, but does treat his wife and stepson better. However, he becomes increasingly crude and sadistic, sexually assaulting Drew's mother and brutally skinning his pet rabbits for supper.
Meanwhile, Zowie breaks out of the veterinary clinic and kills three cats before entering Chase's home and attacking him & Chase's arm ends up getting injured. A day later, Jeff encounters school bully Clyde Parker who is about to sever Jeff's nose using the wheel-spokes of his own motorcycle when Gus shows up. He sends Jeff home, then murders Clyde as Drew looks on.
Gus traps Drew inside their house with the savage Zowie. Drew escapes through a window just as his mother arrives home. Gus's police car chases them down the highway; he finally kills them both, by forcing their car into a collision with a truck. Gus drags Clyde's body off to the cursed burial ground: "I'm takin' you up the hill, Clyde, buddy. That's the way the Indians did it."
That night, Jeff decides to reanimate his mom by using the Indian burial ground`s power. Gus exhumes her corpse, and brings it to Jeff at the burial ground. When Chase hears that his wife's grave has been robbed by Gus, he rushes to the Gilbert house. There he is attacked by Zowie and then by Gus, who is wielding an electric drill. Chase shoots and kills them both.
After coming back to life, Renee stabs and murders the Matthews' housekeeper, Marjorie. Jeff confronts his undead mother in the attic and they embrace. Chase arrives home and urges Jeff to get away from Renee, who says she wants to spend quality time with her husband.
An undead Clyde arrives and attempts to kill Jeff first with an ax, and then with an ice-skate. Renee locks Chase and both of the boys in the house which she then sets on fire. Jeff kills Clyde with a severed insulated cable & then breaks down the attic door to reach his father.
Renee wants Jeff to stay and join her in death, saying she loves him, but Jeff drags Chase out of the house as Renee is destroyed by the flames & her last words are, "Dead is better!" In the end, Jeff and Chase leave Ludlow for Los Angeles, California.
Cast[]
- Edward Furlong as Jeff Matthews
- Anthony Edwards as Chase Matthews
- Clancy Brown as Gus Gilbert
- Jared Rushton as Clyde Parker
- Jason McGuire as Drew Gilbert
- Darlanne Fluegel as Renee Hallow/Matthews
- Lisa Waltz as Amanda Gilbert
- Sarah Trigger as Marjorie Hargrove
Production[]
"Pet Sematary Two" was filmed from January 13, 1992 to March 5, 1992 in Senoia, Georgia, Peachtree City, Georgia and Coweta County, Georgia.
When the production on the film began, director Mary Lambert was set to film it in Maine, like the first one, but the producers switched production to Georgia because they were concerned about Maine's winter weather during that time and Georgia's topiary was similar to Maine.
Box Office[]
"Pet Sematary Two" debuted at #3 at the box office (behind films Honeymoon in Vegas and Unforgiven, grossing $4,825,100 during its opening weekend and domestically grossing $17,092,453.
Critical Reception[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, "Pet Sematary Two" reported that 26% of 19 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review and the average rating was 3.8/10.
Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that the film "is much better at special effects than at creating characters or telling a coherent story".
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote in his review of the film: "Not nearly as scary as the 1989 original, it nonetheless expresses and attempts to resolve in bold mythological terms the anxieties of being 13."
Variety wrote: "Pet Sematary Two is about 50% better than its predecessor, which is to say it's not very good at all."
Richard Harrington from The Washington Post likened it to "an elongated Tales from the Crypt" episode and criticized the script as a rehash of the original.
Jay Carr of The Boston Globe called it "better entertainment than the first Pet Sematary" but more of a remake than a sequel while Patrick Naugle of DVD Verdict wrote, "Everything about Pet Sematary Two stinks like the dead."
Trailer[]
Pet Sematary II Original Theatrical Trailer